Yardbarker: Billy Kinghttp://www.yardbarker.com/nba/players/billy_king/127954
Recent articles about Billy Kingen-usHow far are the Brooklyn Nets from truly becoming contenders?Sean Marks was a smart hire. That was the consensus when the Brooklyn Nets made him their general manager on the day of the trade deadline in 2016. It’s strange how consensus forms around these sorts of things, because few people commenting on the matter know anything significant about the guy who’s getting the job, and even the plugged-in reporters only have a cloudy idea how good he’ll be, because being in charge of personnel for an NBA franchise isn’t a gig that’s particularly like anything else. These dudes in suits who aced their interviews: sometimes they have playing careers and sometimes they don’t, but they’re basically mysteries until they get a couple drafts and free agency periods under their belts. Marks had Spurs pedigree and the folks who had spoken to him said he seemed bright. Upon his hiring, his public perception was perhaps helped most of all by the simple fact that he’s not Billy King. The Nets are still recovering from King’s various screwups. For one more season, they don’t have their f02 Oct 2017 13:13:23 -0400http://www.yardbarker.com/nba/articles/how_far_are_the_brooklyn_nets_from_truly_becoming_contenders/s1_8276_24687980
http://www.yardbarker.com/nba/articles/how_far_are_the_brooklyn_nets_from_truly_becoming_contenders/s1_8276_24687980How far are the Brooklyn Nets from truly becoming contenders?http://www.yardbarker.com/nba/articles/how_far_are_the_brooklyn_nets_from_truly_becoming_contenders/s1_8276_24687980http://www.yardbarker.com/media/7/a/7a28bd8f53b146ab5467b2b5359390786572b0cb/top_story/10306617.jpgA much different Jeremy Lin makes his return to New York In the end, Linsanity ended with a thud, with Knicks general manager Glen Grunwald refusing to open his hotel door room to accept Houston's three-year offer sheet for Jeremy Lin during summer league. The league got involved, and in the end, the Knicks allowed Lin to leave, just five months after he took over the sports world, ruled Madison Square Garden and landed on back-to-back Sports Illustrated covers.Whether the Knicks should have matched the terms on the offer sheet and retained Lin, and whether any tension between Carmelo Anthony and Lin factored into the decision, are things we can continue to debate, but the circumstances landed Lin in Houston, and then later in Los Angeles with the Lakers, before the 28-year-old point guard signed a one-year deal with the Hornets, where he flourished as a scoring guard off the bench.This summer, with Kenny Atkinson – an assistant coach on the Knicks during Linsanity – as the Nets head coach and a three-year, $36 million offer to the starting point guard of an NBA te18 Oct 2016 19:58:00 -0400http://www.yardbarker.com/nba/articles/a_much_different_jeremy_lin_makes_his_return_to_new_york/s1_13132_22164469
http://www.yardbarker.com/nba/articles/a_much_different_jeremy_lin_makes_his_return_to_new_york/s1_13132_22164469A much different Jeremy Lin makes his return to New York http://www.yardbarker.com/nba/articles/a_much_different_jeremy_lin_makes_his_return_to_new_york/s1_13132_22164469http://www.yardbarker.com/media/7/7/77971d2f466d6fa421ae198662b472c8f8b49bdb/top_story/GettyImages-614387696.jpgBilly King 'thought I could have turned it around' with NetsBilly King could have turned things around with the Brooklyn Nets, if only he was given more time. Well, that’s at least the opinion of King, who said as much in his first interview since being fired.
“I know some of the mistakes that were made here and I, I thought I could have turned it around but ownership … that’s their prerogative, [but] you still spent time trying to figure out what’s next," King said, via Nets Daily.
The problem is that King deserves much of the blame for the current predicament that the Nets are in.
Of course, the ultimate embarrassment of King’s tenure with the Nets was this last season. Brooklyn went 21-61 and had all the signs of a tanking team, hoping simply to get a franchise player with a top draft pick.
That wouldn’t be so bad, if only Brooklyn’s first-round pick didn’t belong to the Boston Celtics.
To be fair, the loss of this year’s first-round pick did help the Nets earn their greatest achievement under King’s watch. Who could forget the seasons that Kevin Garnett and P15 May 2016 18:21:47 -0400http://www.yardbarker.com/nba/articles/billy_king_i_thought_i_could_have_turned_it_around_with_nets/s1_12680_20913718
http://www.yardbarker.com/nba/articles/billy_king_i_thought_i_could_have_turned_it_around_with_nets/s1_12680_20913718Billy King 'thought I could have turned it around' with Netshttp://www.yardbarker.com/nba/articles/billy_king_i_thought_i_could_have_turned_it_around_with_nets/s1_12680_20913718http://www.yardbarker.com/media/8/9/891c0ffc25a7e22ae98b2effdb4c95565575baa6/top_story/GettyImages-497205848.jpgNets unlikely to trade Joe JohnsonThe approach of the NBA trade deadline means it’s time for Joe Johnson of the Brooklyn Nets to step back into the spotlight.
Now 34 years old and boasting one of the league’s biggest contracts, Johnson seems destined to remain in trade chatter until his career ends. This year the rumblings are especially intriguing, though, because the Nets just cleaned shop in the front office and at head coach, meaning many might consider this the year the organization finally blows things up.
Or maybe not. According to NetsDaily.com, the Nets will listen but might not be all that interested in moving the veteran:
And would the Nets be interested? Word is that while Frank Zanin, Billy King’s assistant, has “the phone” and will take calls, ownership is unlikely to be interested. The big reason is the return. The Nets would have to take on multiple deals, at least one or more would extend into next season and thus cut into the Nets salary cap space. As anyone who listened to Mikhail Prokhorov this week understands, that 19 Jan 2016 10:13:54 -0500http://www.yardbarker.com/nba/articles/nets_unlikely_to_trade_joe_johnson/s1_12740_20208727
http://www.yardbarker.com/nba/articles/nets_unlikely_to_trade_joe_johnson/s1_12740_20208727Nets unlikely to trade Joe Johnsonhttp://www.yardbarker.com/nba/articles/nets_unlikely_to_trade_joe_johnson/s1_12740_20208727http://www.yardbarker.com/media/2/2/223efbf5c0a25b56244056077f846a9bf7387fc2/top_story/9065636.jpgNets fire Lionel Hollins, start cleaning houseThe Brooklyn Nets have made major changes, firing head coach Lionel Hollins and reassigning general manager Billy King to a lesser role within the organization.
Assistant coach Tony Brown will serve as the interim head coach for the remainder of the season, with the general manager role remaining vacant until a full-time GM is hired.
“After careful consideration, I’ve concluded that it’s time for a fresh start and a new vision for the direction of the team,” Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov said in a team statement. “By making this decision now, it enables our organization to use the rest of the season to diligently evaluate candidates with proven track records. It’s clear from our current state of affairs that we need new leadership. With the right basketball management and coach in place, we are going to create a winning culture and identity and give Brooklyn a team that it can be proud of and enjoy watching. We have learned a great deal during the past six years and our experiences will guide us for the futu10 Jan 2016 12:23:13 -0500http://www.yardbarker.com/nba/articles/nets_clean_house_fire_lionel_hollins_reassign_billy_king/s1_127_20166466
http://www.yardbarker.com/nba/articles/nets_clean_house_fire_lionel_hollins_reassign_billy_king/s1_127_20166466Nets fire Lionel Hollins, start cleaning househttp://www.yardbarker.com/nba/articles/nets_clean_house_fire_lionel_hollins_reassign_billy_king/s1_127_20166466http://www.yardbarker.com/media/b/c/bca67987ac10badadafa46ccebd890d24037d0ab/top_story/GettyImages-496721714.jpgBrooklyn Nets looking to make trades already?With the Brooklyn Nets off to a dismal 0-7 start to the 2015-16 regular season, Nets general manager Billy King apparently has already started exploring trade options.
Billy King admitted he's made some exploratory calls in case #Nets keep heading down this path. Knows they may have to do something.
— Rod Boone (@rodboone) November 9, 2015
King, who is in the final year of his own contract as GM of the Nets, has traded away seven first-round draft picks over the past several years in a failed attempt to make the Nets an Eastern Conference contender.
Now without their own first-round draft pick until 2020, if King and the Nets want to make any major changes, their options will be limited due to a severe lack of future assets.The Nets do however have one major trade chip to bargain with in shooting guard Joe Johnson. Johnson is the final year of this contract, and could be a valuable player for a contending team looking to add a scorer.Still, the Nets have little flexibility, and long season is likely in 09 Nov 2015 16:38:00 -0500http://www.yardbarker.com/nba/articles/nets_looking_to_make_trades_already/s1_13132_19858531
http://www.yardbarker.com/nba/articles/nets_looking_to_make_trades_already/s1_13132_19858531Brooklyn Nets looking to make trades already?http://www.yardbarker.com/nba/articles/nets_looking_to_make_trades_already/s1_13132_19858531http://www.yardbarker.com/media/2/b/2b764656c69f5831668b08d2911785557aa0d6a9/top_story/GettyImages-496343224.jpgNBA GMs on the hot seatWhen a general manager’s job is believed to be in jeopardy, it can be a moment of dramatic decisions and wildly diverging forks in the road for an NBA franchise.
Picture this: let’s say that the team’s 12th man believes that his job is in jeopardy. Suddenly, that 12th man is very uninterested in whether his team wins or loses—instead, he is totally interested in putting the best possible play on tape for the other 29 teams to see. This can, paradoxically, help out his current team a lot. Maybe the defense is sharper, or maybe his jump shot receives a bit more practice each day. And so when that 12th man appears in his three minutes per game, those are an incrementally better three minutes that help the team as a whole.
This is not what it’s like when a general manager believes his job is in jeopardy. That general manager is newly motivated to get his team winning games right now—which can have crippling effects on that team’s long-term cap situation and/or development of young prospects. The g29 Sep 2014 12:00:00 -0400http://www.yardbarker.com/nba/articles/wheelers_and_dealers_nba_gms_on_the_hot_seat/s1_11773_17385923
http://www.yardbarker.com/nba/articles/wheelers_and_dealers_nba_gms_on_the_hot_seat/s1_11773_17385923NBA GMs on the hot seathttp://www.yardbarker.com/nba/articles/wheelers_and_dealers_nba_gms_on_the_hot_seat/s1_11773_17385923http://www.yardbarker.com/media/1/f/1fc38198683b97434abf88a134277bf7d23191b4/top_story/gms.jpgPop considered cutting Green?During the San Antonio Spurs' title chase, Rey Moralde of The No Look Pass will be contributing to Project Spurs. So apparently, the then-New Jersey Nets could've picked up Danny Green last year. According to Avery Johnson, who was coach last season, they were so close on getting the NBA Finals record-holder for most three-pointers. Here's NetsDaily with the report and the transcript After the Spurs' win over the Heat, Green's' shooting was a hot topic on First Take, hosted by Stephen A. Smith. Johnson took the opportunity to talk about how good he thought Green was during his tenure at Nets coach. AJ: "I remember with the Nets, Billy King and I, we were trying convince Pop to cut Danny Green so we could bring him at the time to New Jersey." SAS: "You were trying to hoodwink Pop? AJ: "YES!" (all laugh) SAS: "Oh my goodness! You were trying to hoodwink Pop." AJ: "And Pop said if he has one more bad game we're going to cut him and he made a bunch 18 Jun 2013 17:30:00 -0400http://network.yardbarker.com/nba/article_external/the_39little_general_39_tried_to_pull_a_fast_one_on_pop_with_danny_green/s1_10012_13864835
http://network.yardbarker.com/nba/article_external/the_39little_general_39_tried_to_pull_a_fast_one_on_pop_with_danny_green/s1_10012_13864835Pop considered cutting Green?http://www.yardbarker.com/nba/articles/the_39little_general_39_tried_to_pull_a_fast_one_on_pop_with_danny_green/s1_10012_13864835http://www.yardbarker.com/media/7/3/73d70e6ed232f95df2dab049a99b5ddf5b860fc2/top_story/dg.jpg